Colorado Citizens for Peace

U.S. House Approves Blank Check for Wars

ATTENTION!

The United States military occupation of Iraq is not over. It is more important than ever keep the pressure on our elected leaders in Washington to end this immoral and illegal war.

Vote of Colorado delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives on funding for Iraq and Afghanistan wars, May 14, 2009. (Thomas)

Perlmutter - YES
DeGette - YES
Salazar - YES
Markey - YES
Lamborn - YES
Coffman - YES
Polis - NO

House Backs Obama's Afghan Surge, Amid Calls for Exit Strategy | John Nichol/The Nation/CommonDreams.org

"Sometimes great presidents make mistakes," declared Massachusetts Congressman Jim McGovern as he announced his intention to vote against $97 billion in "emergency" supplemental funding for the continued U.S. occupation of Iraq and President Obama's dangerously misguided plan to surge 21,000 more U.S. troops and trainers into Afghanistan.

McGovern is a Democrat who supported Barack Obama for president last year.

But McGovern is not willing to write Obama a blank check for endless warmaking.

And he is not alone.

The congressman was one of five dozen House members who voted Thursday against the "emergency" supplemental, which passed the House on a 368-60 vote. Of the 60 "no" votes, 51 came from Democrats, almost all of them members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Nine Republicans, some of them anti-war, some of them budget hawks, voted "no."

The level of Democratic opposition was significant and reflected concerns that were summed up by McGovern.

"The mission has greatly expanded and the policy is vague," the Massachusetts congressman explained Thursday. "The more stuff I'm exposed to the more uneasy I get about what we're doing here. I get this sinking feeling that we're getting sucked into something that we'll never be able to get out of." ... MORE

Important to Keep Pressure on Obama

It is more important than ever to keep the pressure on President Obama to stick to the goal of extricating the U.S. military out of the quagmire of Iraq.

Make your desire for peace known by attending the peace vigil next Saturday.

Iraq Bloodshed Rises as US Allies Defect | Times of London

Iraq is threatened by a new wave of sectarian violence as members of the “Sons of Iraq” – the Sunni Awakening militias that were paid by the US to fight Al-Qaeda – begin to rejoin the insurgency.

If the spike in violence continues, it could affect President Barack Obama’s pledge to withdraw all combat troops from Iraqi cities by the end of June. All US troops are due to leave the country by 2012.

A leading member of the Political Council of Iraqi Resistance, which represents six Sunni militant groups, said: “The resistance has now returned to the field and is intensifying its attacks against the enemy. The number of coalition forces killed is on the rise.”

The increase in attacks by such groups, combined with a spate of bombings blamed on Al-Qaeda, has had a chilling effect on the streets of Iraq. More than 370 Iraqi civilians and military – and 80 Iranian pilgrims – lost their lives in April, making it the bloodiest month since last September. On Wednesday, five car bombs exploded in a crowded market in Sadr City, Baghdad, killing 51 people and injuring 76. Three US soldiers were killed on Thursday and two more yesterday when a gunman in Iraqi army uniform opened fire near Mosul. ...

... Many fighters have abandoned their security posts, allowing militant groups to fill the gap. Abu Omar, the leader of an Awakening militia in northern Baghdad, said more than 50 out of 175 fighters had quit.

The Iraqi resistance representative claimed some militias had lost even more. “Up to half their members have resigned from the Awakening and rejoined the resistance,” he said.

The US had been paying nearly 100,000 Sons of Iraq to participate in its security “surge”, but handed over responsibility for their welfare to the Iraqi government last month. Their pay has since dried up. Only 5,000 members of the Awakening have been employed by the Iraqi security forces.

Ginger Cruz, America’s deputy inspector-general for Iraq reconstruction, warned that disillusioned Sunnis could join forces with Al-Qaeda as well as resistance groups. ...

... Many Iraqis believe deteriorating security may provide a pretext for the US to prolong its stay in Iraq.

Colonel Andrew Bacevich, a military historian who lost his son in Iraq, said the rise in casualties threatened Obama’s withdrawal plans. The US military, including General Jim Jones, Obama’s national security adviser, wanted troops to leave the country “in a condition in which they can plausibly claim to have achieved success”, he said.

Iraq has already begun negotiating with the United States about exceptions to the June 30 deadline, according to press reports. MORE

May Meeting

Join us for an organizational meeting immediately following the vigil on Saturday, May 2, 2009. We will gather at the adjacent Lone Star restaurant at one o'clock for about 45 minutes.

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Colorado Citizens for Peace

Weekly Vigil

Every Saturday

Noon - 1:00 p.m.

Intersection of Wadsworth Blvd. and 52nd Ave.

Arvada, Colorado
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